In the Nashville VA Hospital, there lies an area with brand new carpet flooring- a design called Canopy. Inspired by the finite details of nature, Canopy is part of the Squareberry Collection which healthcare designer, Meagan Webb, entered into the 2009 tx:style Design Challenge. Meagan Webb also won the first tx:style Design Challenge.

Now in its third year, the tx:style Design Challenge gives designers a platform to showcase their talents and a shot at having their design turned into a complete product line by Mannington Commercial. Meagan tells us about her experience in going from carpet concept to installation.

What prompted you to enter the tx:style Design Challenge?
I heard about the tx: style Design Challenge at a very sensitive time. The healthcare design firm for which I was employed experienced large layoffs due to the economic challenges that many architecture firms have experienced. I was affected by the layoff; therefore, a former coworker called to check on me and mentioned the contest. She encouraged me to enter, but the catch was—it ended that week! I decided to go for it and got to work immediately.

What inspired the Squareberry design?
I am amazed by the beauty of God’s creation when hiking. The finite detail that was put into creation astounded me. I noticed that not one leaf was identical to the next. As I pondered, I contrasted the way God designed the world with the way man interprets creation. Man sees everything on a grid. Everything has a size, shape and increment.

Squareberry contrasts the organic shapes of creation with the rigid grid that we design and see through our own eyes. This creates a delicate juxtaposition of geometry and organic forms.

Did you have any particular installations in mind when you were designing Squareberry?
Naturally, I thought of healthcare installations; however, I think the carpet design would work well for hospitality or retail applications, as well.

What 3 words would you use to describe Squareberry?
Organic, geometric, layered.

How was your NeoCon experience? [Note: finalists of the tx:style Design Challenge are awarded a trip to NeoCon World’s Trade Fair in Chicago.]
My 2009 NeoCon experience was indescribable. It was amazing to network with other designers from around the country and share the Squareberry design story. It was intriguing to learn about the other designers’ inspiration stories. Hearing those stories made me realize one can truly find inspiration anywhere. I really enjoyed getting to share this experience with the other extremely talented finalists. It was an opportunity of a lifetime that I will never forget and hope that many other designers get to experience it as well.

What have been the biggest challenges you've faced as a young designer?
The biggest challenge I have faced as a young designer is beginning and continuing my career in the current economic times. I have been forced to be creative and diversify myself as much as possible. While looking for a job, I did residential and commercial freelance work, including landscape design, graphic design and interior design, as well as renovating historic homes in Nashville. This was my opportunity to try new ventures and discover what aspects of design I was passionate about.

What are your goals for Squareberry?
I would love to see the entire Squareberry carpet collection installed in a healthcare facility lobby. I would relish the opportunity to continue designing carpet in the future and hope to build upon this experience. I really enjoyed the detail of pattern making and the process from concept to installation. It opened my eyes to the opportunities in carpet and textile design.

What are your goals as a designer?
I plan to continue my career as a healthcare designer working at the Nashville VA Medical Center serving our veterans. I find healthcare design a rewarding field by knowing I am creating a healing environment for those who are suffering. To keep my creativity fueled, I will purse my personal venture of renovating historic homes and businesses in east Nashville.

Where can someone find an installation of Squareberry?
I recently had the opportunity to install Canopy, a Squareberry carpet coordinate, in the Nashville VA Hospital Medical Services department. This was such a rewarding experience that brought the design to life.

What makes up the Squareberry line exactly? Squareberry- Juxtaposes organic forms and rigid grid lines.Canopy-Takes a closer look at the tree. Admiring the vast depth of the tree canopy. The deeper you look the more layers you see.Bark- Inspired by the texture of bark, a grid like texture that repeats.

Thanks, Meagan!

The Squareberry carpet collection is offered by Mannington Commercial. Meagan Webb currently works as a Healthcare Designer at Nashville VA Hospital and continues to do home and business renovations in east Nashville.

This year’s tx:style Design Challenge launched Dec. 6th, 2010 and goes until Feb. 16, 2011. The contest is open to all practicing designers and architects of varying experiences. To enter your winning design, go to www.manningtontxstyle.com.

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Thank you, Carly and Meagan, and all the best to the Mannington Commercial 2011 tx:style Design Challenge participants!

I thought I would recap for you George's comments relating to carpet since they are so relevant to the Carpetology Blog and bring to life some great carpet style trends and ideas.

By the way, George has carpet in his home. During the webchat he explained that he has carpet in his bedrooms and is about to install 1000 sq. feet of carpet in his newly designed basement because he wants that space to be "sofy, cosy and quiet..."

My friends at Funonthefloor.com invited me to ask the first question. What an honor!

Housetohome:
Let’s kick off with a question from Christine B Whittemore of Carpetology - "My readers are very interested in carpet style trends. What's the best way to incorporate the latest carpet patterns and styles in home design?"

George's response:Bold colours or simple stripes are a really good way to incorporate the latest trends... this Season's 'Ballet Russe' is a perfect example of a latest trend - get the look with a rich red or plum carpet in a velvet pile - these are perfect and luxurious for bedrooms. There are loads of ideas and more information on this at www.funonthefloor.com.

[Thank you, George, and FunontheFloor!]

George Clarke offered advice on making a "teeny little flat in London" look bigger: first have a big clear out and declutter, use minimal finishes and over elaborate on furnishings and decoration, integrate storage as much as possible rather than having free standing furniture, use a light coloured carpet on the floor or other light finishes...and paint all of the walls a light bright colour...a matt trade white is my favourite...keep everything minimal and simple. G

On making a space look less gloomy and more cheerful: get as much natural light in there as possible. My house is north facing and I have lots of skylights to get stronger light into all of the rooms. A few bright and bold colours on the wall or on the floor by using bright, colourful carpet can also add colour and vibrancy to a room....light and colour!!!!!! G

On carpet for absorbing sound and as alternative to wood flooing: I'm a big fan of thick comfortable carpet. Timber flooring has been trendy for years but can often be cold in a room and for flats like yours its impractical. Go soft, cosy and luxurious...visit www.funonthefloor.com...G

[NB: Carpet is also a "brilliant insulator!!!!!!" says George.]

On which colors are popular trends for carpet: Abby...no way!...people are far more adventurous now and are avoiding the usual beige. The research and trends today show that people are looking to personalise their style and want to bring more character into their homes...the days of boring bland and neutral are gone! visit www.funonthefloor.com to see the trends for this year...you'll be impressed! G [CB: Hurray! George says it's ok to banish the beige!]

On carpet and kids:everyone thinks carpet is completely impractical with kids...this aint true...they are much easier to clean and maintain than they used to be so don't compromise on comfort over practicality. There are ways of keeping your carpet in great nick. G

On the best carpet style for high traffic areas - asked by Blue Ant Studio blog: A carpet labelled ‘Heavy Domestic’ will be good for high traffic areas. Berber carpets, also known as looped pile, are very durable and practical. A cut pile or twist is good for any room in the home.

Your carpet retailer should be able to help you choose one...and visit www.funonthefloor.com for even more inspiration and technical advice. G

[Note for North American readers: 'heavy domestic' is a carpet performance rating in the UK.]

Read through the web chat replay for some of the other tips, trends and ideas that George Clarke shared. As you can tell from these few responses the energy and enthusiasm were high - on George's part and from those participating and asking questions. Don't you think?

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Back in February 2010 - seems like ages ago - Surfaces organized an insider's tour in Las Vegas of the Encore, hipper, younger sister to the Wynn, led by the Encore design team. The experience - because it captured intense Las Vegas style inspiration - was unforgettable. Luckily, I had my camera handy and kept it busy thereby allowing me to share with you several bathrooms.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that opulence is a dominant theme throughout the Wynn and Encore in terms of unique materials and themes and fascinating juxtapositions of products.

We started out at the Wynn Las Vegas. This first bathroom is located in the shopper section - definitely not your average shopping mall public restroom! Notice the beautiful materials and the combinations of colors, shapes and textures. I love the contrast between the bold floor pattern and the more soothing solids of the other surfaces.

Restrooms in the Wynn shopping mall

As you transition from the Wynn to the Encore you notice butterflies. The effect is subtle because the color scheme works together. The Encore theme is the butterfly which symbolizes metamorphosis; it's considered good luck across all cultures. I took many photos of all of the instances of butterflies: in store windows, on the walls, in sconces.

We visited the XS Club, inspired by the human body, and were told that this was a place that got pretty wild at night. Luckily, we were there early in the day and had it all to ourselves. Check out the women's room....

The Women's Room: What's That in the Mirror?

Understated, utilitarian flash

Functional with glitz

Consider yourself warned!

As you exited the bar to make your way to the foyer, these marvelous torsos lined the wall.

This image I took along our walk. I just had to include it. You are right in concluding that it has nothing to do with the club we just left. I consider it timelessly elegant, possibly even reminiscent of the 60s?.

Lucky Peacock: Gorgeous ostentation

Finally, this bathroom was in one of the special ritzy suites. I couldn't get over the soothing green color scheme and the rich, sparkly insets and details. Luckily, the mirror frames were simple shapes. Isn't that fabric scrumptious?

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Surfaces, the annual exposition for the flooring industry, occurs once a year in Las Vegas. For Bathroom Blogfest 2010 - taking place this week - I thought I would share with you what I consider a clever way of showcasing flooring products.

These pictures below are ones I took on the last day of Surfaces having just finished using the women's bathroom on the ground level of the Sands Convention Center. I couldn't get over how cool the effect was.

The product manufacturer, Armstrong, had vinyl product samples displayed in the women's room. I wish I had checked whether the men's room had also been decked out. Next time. In any case, the product does a great job jazzing up, warming up and improving the acoustics of an otherwise uninspired and rather sterile space.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Are you passionate about Home Design & Improvement [and how carpet fits into the overall picture]? If yes, you might be interested in a HousetoHomeLive Web Chat taking place this Friday, October 15, 2010 with George Clark, UK architect, writer and lecturer, hugely successful property TV presenters on UK television and newest addition to Fun on the Floor's panel of experts.

"Many of your UK readers will know George from The Home Show [launched in 2008] and Restoration Man [launched in 2009] programmes that he appears on at Channel 4. After three successful series of Build A New Life for Five from 2003 to 2006, George became the face of architecture at Channel 4.

George will be on hand via this Live Design Web Chat to answer questions on home renovation and design projects so I feel sure that this will be of interest to your audience. May I request that you let your readers know about this unique opportunity to quiz him about anything from carpet tips to basement conversions."

In the article and the series, you'll experience the surreal quality of both carpet and Las Vegas. Where else but in Las Vegas can such intensely exuberant and patterned carpet be more appropriate? Where else can it support addictive activity?

He states that “casino carpet is known as an exercise in deliberate bad taste that somehow encourages people to gamble.” Talk about addictive!

At the same time, each carpet design distinctly defines individual casinos. Per the article, "Schwartz also points out that the busy carpets are not without design: There are floral designs at Mandalay Palace, abstract pointillist floors at Paris and, at Caesars Palace, the wheel – the Roman symbol of the “relentless capriciousness of fortune.”" [SeeEmpty Pockets, Happy Feet & Casino Carpet.]

For me, prolonged exposure to the visual intensity [and energy] of the various bold and colorful patterns creates sensory overload. That's when I seek refuge in my hotel room where if I'm lucky, as you can see in Wow! Mirage Carpet, a tastefully subdued design scheme will definitely offer a well-deserved break!

What's your take on Las Vegas carpet? Do you have a preferred Casino pattern? Let me know!

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

If you remember from Carpetright Style Guide: Carpet Inspiration Online, Carpetright in the UK offers carpet design and style inspiration via online trends and monthly tips. These are created by Victoria Redshaw and have recently been updated with new carpet style trends!

More specifically, when you next visit the Carpetright Style guide, you'll find details on the 3 following new trends:

What I love most about how Victoria presents these carpet style trends is that she suggests how to get the look, create interesting design groupings, then complete the look with carpet recommendations.

As I read through each trend, I find myself thinking how I might go about creating that trend...

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

I love practical solutions especially when they help me deal with messy hassles such as carpet stains. The latest I've come across is an iPhone app offering specific instructions on how to remove carpet stains! It's the Shaw Floors Carpet Stain Center.

Available free, you can check it out on iTunes or download it directly to your iPhone, iTouch or iPad by searching on the exact name or also "carpet stain" [there may be a few other search terms, but my iPhone isn't cooperating at the moment].

The application lets your search alphabetically through almost 1000 different stain types. Alternatively, you can type the specific stain into a search window. Once you identify your stain, the app offers a recommended stain removal procedure, specific techniques and solutions [aka cleaning solutions] to have handy.

Some additional thoughts relating to carpet stain removal:

You do want to act quickly when you have a carpet stain.

You may want to keep handy in your home the carpet cleaning solutions listed. For example, a detergent solution in a spray bottle, water in a spray bottle, solvent, white vinegar, ammonia, ammonia/hydrogen peroxide mixture...

The technique to use for dealing successfully with carpet stains is "Blot, don't Rub!" Check out this post on How To Remove A Carpet Stain for more detailed instructions.

Removing carpet stains takes time.

I encourage you to download the app which is mighty handy for dealing with carpet stains.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

I love how carpets and rugs add warmth and visual appeal to a room. Rugs, in particular, create design accents that can define the purpose of a space, generate conversation and generally convey a sense of hospitality to a space. Take this room scene from Nourison with its magnificent styled rug.

Style VA26 from Nourison's Vallencierre collection features an elegantly eclectic transitional motif that enhances both traditional and contemporary interiors with a sophisticated fashion accent. All rugs in the Vallencierre collection carry the Wools of New Zealand brand and are hand-washed, hand-carved, and hand-finished for an appearance that is both luxurious and unmistakably fashion-forward.

Note: what the photo above doesn't properly capture is how textural the pattern is with its hand-carved quality. Truly scrumptious!

Thursday, July 8, 2010

How many flooring or carpet retailers have you encountered that offer customers interior style advice? Not that many, right? Imagine then being inspired and guided online by an incredibly talented interiors trend forecaster who not only offers advice on how to make the most of your flooring or carpet decision, but also helps integrate the floor into an overall design concept. That is what Carpetright in the UK has done with its Style Guide.

She explains that the Carpetright Style Guide helps customers understand how important flooring is to the overall design scheme and achieve an entire look rather than a piecemeal one. As Victoria explains "we wanted to help customers to understand how flooring can be an integral part of creating the hottest new interior trends in their own home... and of course let them know what those hot trends are."

The lowdown is as follows: every six months, Carpetright will showcase 3 new interior trends on their website and via in-store posters with montages of home products currently available at UK stores. Trend boards will help demonstrate how the entire look comes together.

The Carpetright Style Guide is practical, inspiring, helpful, educational and truly beautiful! And I love how completely it integrates carpet and flooring into the final look/feel of each design concept.

What do you think?

Congratulations Victoria and Carpetright for creating such a rich source of carpet inspiration online and integrating it with your in-store experience!

New Carpet Style Introduced Via Bloggers

That's right, on May 19th and 20th, 2010, Shaw and CCA Global invited bloggers to participate in a two day event, starting at Barnsley Gardens with an inspiring presentation from Amy Devers, HGTV's DIY to the Rescue and the next day at Shaw in Dalton, GA, with a visit tour of the Shaw Design Center and mini-manufacturing process, the creation of trend boards, and firsthand Tigressa demonstrations.

Here's who participated - a veritable who's who in the interiors and home furnishings industry each projecting strong voices in design, color, decor and green living:

Timothy Dahl from Charles & Hudson, an independent resource for do-it-yourself enthusiasts seeking the latest in home improvement tips and techniques as well as the finest tools and hottest news in the home building industry.

I was invited to participate and, unfortunately, couldn't attend. My friend and former colleague, Bruce Conlon -- we both called on CCA Global, he for Shaw and I for Solutia/Wear-Dated -- graciously sent me information so I could share it with you.

What makes Tigressa Softstyle carpet different?

According to FloorDaily,Tigressa is a "line of soft nylon carpets with fibers half the width of human hair... More fibers yield better color saturation within the carpet as well as greater durability and wear resistance since it spreads wear out across more individual threads."

What's the story behind the name "Tigressa"?

"For all Tigressá sales made between May 16 and August 20, 2010, we’ll donate a portion of the proceeds to the National Fish and Wildlife Federation’s Save the Tiger Fund (STF). STF sponsors effective efforts to stop the killing of wild tigers, enabling them to recover and flourish, and empowers local people to live in balance with natural resources, providing tangible benefits to them whenever possible."

"One grand prize winner will receive a trip for two to India to see the tigers, a $12,000 value! Three first prize winners will receive a $1,500 gift card for Tigressá carpet, and five second prize winners will receive a Nikon COOLPIX camera. Enter now for your chance to win!

Increase your odds of winning by sharing on both Facebook and Twitter. For every entry on Twitter, we will donate a dollar to the Save the Tiger Fund to help support the efforts to save this regal creature from extinction*."

The sweepstakes lasts until August 20th.

When you register for the sweepstakes, you have the opportunity to share on Facebook and on Twitter. For every #Tigressa tweet sent out [you have 3 to choose from]:

Just donated a dollar to the Save The Tiger Fund and entered to win a trip for two to India thanks to #Tigressa! http://bit.ly/tigressa

Donated a dollar to the Save the Tiger Fund, entered to win great prizes, and learned about new #Tigressa carpet! http://bit.ly/tigressa

Found the perfect new carpet for my home and entered to win great prizes, including a trip to India! http://bit.ly/tigressa #tigressa

Shaw and CCA will donate $1 to the Save the Tiger Fund. Note: you must issue the tweet from the sweepstakes registration page.

The Tigressa SoftStyle Carpet Product

From the samples Bruce and Empower MediaMarketing sent me, Tigressa feels lush, thick and soft. The brochures describes it as "luxurious and durable" with "ultra protective color and microfiber technology, supreme, silky softness, stronger than ordinary carpet, richer stronger color."

In terms of nitty gritty details, Tigressa is made from type 6 nylon which can be repeatedly recycled into new nylon. For that reason, it is categorized as a Green Select product at Flooring America and Carpet One.

That, then, is the lowdown of Tigressa SoftStyle Carpet from Shaw based on the accounts of the bloggers I've listed above. Look for it at Carpet One and Flooring America and then, please, let me know what you think.

"Desso GrassMaster is a sports field of 100% natural grass reinforced with Desso synthetic grass fibres. The unique element of this patented reinforced natural grass system is the 20 million artificial grass fibres injected 20 cm deep into the pitch. During the growing process, the roots of the natural grass entwine with the synthetic grass fibres and anchor the turf into a stable and even field. In this way the natural grass fibres are well protected against tackles and sliding. Moreover, it ensures better drainage of the pitch. Despite the fact that 3% of the pitch is made up of synthetic grass fibres, Desso GrassMaster gives players the feeling of playing on a 100% natural grass pitch."

Thursday, June 10, 2010

This post about How To Care For Shag Carpet is dedicated to my friend Izzy who, in Isabelle Garland's First Smoke Rise Encounter, referred to an extraordinary sight: the raking a shag carpet. Raking with a pilator as CRI's Bethany Richmond so elegantly demonstrates in this photo, constitutes a best practice in caring for shag carpet.

In my Wear-Dated days, with the expert guidance of Annette Smith, I proudly put together a Shag Carpet Maintenance document. I discovered, in looking for shag raking ammunition for Izzy, that the document was no longer available. However, I'm able here to recreate most of the content and offer you expert advice on how you should care for your shag carpet.

Here goes...

Shag carpet is back. It’s thick, plush, luxurious and comfortable. It makes fantastic conversation piece area rugs and scrumptious wall-to-wall carpet. For that reason, we share with you important information on how to care for and maintain your shag carpet.

General Shag Carpet Care:

Carpet generally wants to be vacuumed frequently, ideally twice a week and more often in high traffic areas. Shag carpet is no different. However, one major difference does exist between shag and other carpets, and it has to do with beater bars…

Vacuuming Shag Carpet:

The best way to care for your shag carpet is to vacuum it with a suction-only vacuum. If your vacuum has a beater bar, be sure to disengage it when vacuuming your shag carpet. When disengaged, the brushes on the beater bar should not come in contact with or abrade the fibers as you vacuum. The reason? Using a beater bar or brush may cause the yarns to “feather out” or lose their twist, resulting in pilling or fuzzing. That means your shag carpet would no longer look they way it did when you fell in love with it;. It would lose its unique character.

If you have a particularly thick shag carpet, you might consider using a pilator [see close up in photo] or grooming rake to keep your carpet looking well-groomed and carefully coiffed.

Caring for your shag carpet with frequent and suction-only vacuuming will ensure that your shag carpet provides you with the Beauty, Comfort and Durability you expect from it.

Additional Shag Carpet Care:

For those of you with shag carpet, would you add anything to this post on how to care for shag carpet?

Shag Carpet & Pilator Image credits:

Thank you, Jenn Mendez and Bethany Richmond from the Carpet and Rug Institute, for capturing the shag pilator in action! Check out the Carpet and Rug Institute Blog for many great carpet related resources.

Last year, The Carpetology Blog introduced Mannington Commercial’s tx: style Design Challenge, an online competition among young, aspiring designers to have their design made into a full carpet collection.

And because the competition was so popular among its 6,000+ registrants, Mannington Commercial re-launched the website this year.

This year, the website is even better. In addition to being the website for the Design Challenge, it is an online design community that is up and running year-round. The site presents monthly contests, a mood board where users may upload what inspires them and a product development tab.

The monthly contests have brought many to the online community. Simple in nature, the prizes are big—a trip to Greenbuild, a $500 gift certificate to West Elm and the current contest that will give one lucky winner a trip to NeoCon. And there’s more where these come from.

The "Who wants to go to NeoCon?" contest ends May 27th and the winner will be announced June 1st.

At this point, Mannington Commercial has chosen six design finalists who are in the running for the top honor. You can see their unique designs on the tx:style website, as well as video clips to get to know their personalities and the inspirations behind their work. Be sure to vote for your favorites!

Online voting closes June 14th, but remains open to visitors at NeoCon (June 14-16).

If you can make it to NeoCon this year, the finalists will be in Mannington Commercial’s showroom #1039. An entire section is devoted to tx: style, where the finalists will be showing off their design boards and encouraging online voting. Additionally, there will be awesome giveaways, including fun bags and iPads.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Have you had a chance to visit the Surfaces Blog? If you're looking for design inspiration, ideas on carpet style trends and colors, with a dash of carpet - or surfaces - industry practicality thrown in, you will enjoy your visit!

[I'm delighted to say that she is as inspiring in person. You see, I got to meet her and spend time with her at Surfaces 2010...]

In addition to flooring and carpet style trend information, the Surfaces Blog offers flooring business insights. Paul Friederichsen shares perspective on marketing and branding; Warren Tyler on sales; Lew Migliore on how to deal with flooring issues and how best to care for flooring. And others. All experts in their fields.

Welcome to The Carpetology Blog!

Here, you'll find thoughts, ideas, resources and links about all things carpet... from design inspiration, to carpet-in-the-news, tips on installing, maintaining and buying carpet, to explaining about the different carpet style trends available.